A Series Of Firsts - I Love You
by NotAWastedWord
Summary: This is the beginning of a series of Rizzles firsts. Those three little words can be said in many ways, but something happens to Jane that makes Maura want to say them in a very specific way. One shot.


Thank you to Rizzles90 for the one shot prompts! Here's the first one of many, I hope. I wrote it on the train to work this morning – enjoy!

xxx

"Maura, ya gotta come, Jane's been hurt."

Usually, Maura Isles loathed sudden interruptions, particularly when she was working on an autopsy report. But all irritation was forgotten when Frankie burst into her office.

Without a word, she leapt up from behind her desk, grabbed her keys and followed Frankie to the elevator.

"What happened?"

"All I know is that they were chasing a suspect down an alleyway and he pulled a gun, turned around and shot Jane."

Maura'a stomach clenched. She had seen Jane get shot before. Correction - she had seen Jane shoot herself to save everyone else from a criminal. It wasn't something she ever wanted to happen again, yet here they were.

"Where was she shot?"

"I really don't know any more than that, I'm sorry..."

Maura cut in.

"How could this happen again?"

"She's a cop, Maura. We all know the risks, you as much as the rest of us. If not more."

She nodded, unable to speak.

They ran to Maura's car and she sped perhaps a bit too quickly out of the car park to be totally responsible, but she wasn't sure she cared. If Jane had been shot in a vital organ or, God forbid, her head, every second counted.

If she had to say goodbye, she wanted Jane to be able to hear her.

A lump formed in her throat and she found herself unable to breathe. Frankie must have noticed the lack of rise and fall of her chest, because he quickly placed a hand on hers as it rested on the steering wheel.

"Hey, Maura, breathe. We don't know what's going on yet."

"That's what scares me." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"She'll be okay. She's Jane, she's never not okay." But he didn't sound sure, in fact he seemed very un-sure, and it did nothing to quell Maura's fears.

They made it to the emergency department in record timing, mostly due to Maura's lack of use of her car's brakes. Frankie thought he probably had whiplash but didn't feel it was the right time to bring it up.

Of course, he was worried about his sister, but he was being far more rational than Maura. The alternative was too scary for him to think about.

They rushed to the reception and Maura practically barked at the woman behind the desk to tell them where Jane was, Frankie flashing his badge when she tried to protest.

"She's in bed 14, but who..."

She wasn't able to finish before they'd sprinted off in the direction of the woman's finger. Once outside the curtain with the number 14 Sharpied on it, Maura stopped. She didn't know what state Jane would be in. She couldn't hear over the racket of other cases, and she wasn't sure she could go in if Jane was unconscious, or worse.

"Come on, let's see what the damage is." Frankie spoke quietly, and gulped, but managed a smile. He pulled back the curtain, and Maura's breath hitched.

Jane was sitting up in bed, dressed in a gown, eating a pot of pudding. She turned to see her visitors, a huge spoonful of melted chocolate coating her teeth.

"Heeeeey guys, what's going on?"

Both Maura and Frankie stood shell shocked, their mouths opening and closing like fish nibbling at food.

"You were shot." Maura spoke first.

"Was I? Oh yeah, in my shoulder. I liked that shoulder too. I guess I'll have a wicked scar though. Took a big chunk of skin off the top."

"I think she's high." Frankie snickered and dropped his head.

"But you were shot. And I thought, I thought..." Maura had to stop talking because the relief flooding through her was making her want to weep.

Frankie placed a steadying hand on her shoulder and she closed her eyes, swallowing back tears. At this, Jane looked concerned, and put down her pudding.

"Little brother, could you give us a minute?"

Frankie nodded and squeezed Maura's shoulder, before leaving without a word.

"Come here Maur'." She patted the bed, the slight noise jarring Maura out of a trance. She walked slowly toward the bed, eyeing Jane's hand before tucking her skirt underneath her and sitting down delicately.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh please, it's just my shoulder, I've had worse. You KNOW I've had worse." Maura needed no more reassurance, and launched herself at Jane, hugging her tightly. Jane grunted slightly at the pressure on her injured shoulder, but said nothing as she wrapped her arms round her best friend.

"I thought you were hurt." Maura mumbled into Jane's neck, inhaling her scent as if it was the last chance she'd get to do it.

Jane pulled back, a look of faux annoyance on her face.

"I _am_ hurt _."_

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

Maura pulled Jane back into a fierce hug, and Jane smiled. After a moment, Maura released her grip.

"So I heard you were chasing a suspect?"

Maura pulled the shoulder of Jane's gown away to look at the gauze-covered wound. She wanted to check it had been dealt with correctly. Whilst she didn't doubt the staff knew what they were doing, it didn't hurt to be thorough. Unbeknownst to Maura, Jane closed her eyes at her touch, and her breath grew a little deeper. She breathed out slowly.

"He wasn't even a suspect on one of my cases." She laughed. "I was walking out of the store after buying some batteries, of all things, and he came running out from behind me, DVDs flying everywhere from inside his jacket. I guess he had the gun there in case he got caught."

"Which he did."

"Yeah, he sure did. Thankfully a patrol car was round the corner. They shot him in the leg and he cried like a baby. I didn't even cry when I was shot the last time, did I?" She looked proudly at Maura, who tilted her head and smiled warmly, brushing a stray hair away from Jane's face and tucking it behind her ear.

"No Jane, you didn't. You were very brave."

Jane beamed.

"Of course it could also have been the fact that you were unconscious."

Jane scowled.

"Please, Jane, I know you can't make any promises, but can you please try and be more careful?"

She wrapped her fingers round Jane's hand and squeezed.

"I couldn't lose you."

"You're not gonna lose me. It takes more than a bullet to get rid of a Rizzoli."

"I know, and I know it's your job, and I do not want to sound like Angela, at least not in this instance." She caught her breath.

"But if something ever happened to you, I don't know how I'd go on. You're my best friend and I love you."

"Aw, Maura! Come on, try not to think so negatively, I'll be fine, I..."

She was cut off by Maura's lips on hers, applying a firm but gentle pressure that made her feel things throughout her entire body. Maura opened her mouth slightly, and Jane could feel her breath, hot and wet and delicious. She took Jane's bottom lip between her own and ran her tongue over it, eliciting a moan from both women.

"No, Jane. I _love_ you."

Her fingertips traced patterns on Jane's face, and rested against her pouting lips.

"Maura, I..."

"I get it Jane, you're not into women. I know, and it's okay." She smiled, stroking Jane's face with a caress gentler than Jane thought was possible.

"I just wanted you to know how I feel about you. You are wonderful, and courageous, and loving, and kind. And I love you. I've always loved you, I think. I just can't let you go another day without telling you, especially when you insist on getting in scrapes like you did today."

She got up, a hint of red splashed across her cheeks.

"I'll let you say hello to Frankie properly now. I understand if you feel differently about me, and if you need some time to digest all of this." She waved her arms around her

"But please don't make it too long."

Jane grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Maura's mouth dropped and she looked genuinely scared.

"You can't just say something like that to me and then leave." Her bottom lip trembled.

"And you sure as hell can't kiss me like that and not swear to me that you'll do it again every day for the rest of our lives."

Maura could've sworn she had stopped breathing. Jane was looking at her with such intensity, she wasn't sure if she was aroused or scared. A bit of both was likely, she decided.

"What are you saying?" Maura breathed out, afraid she might not hear what she so needed to.

"I'm saying I love you too, Maura Isles, you goofball. You're perfect, and I love you, and I love spending time with you." She swung her legs off the bed, a tear tracking its way down her cheek.

"I love the way your eyes light up when you're explaining something to me. I love how your eyes close when you take your first sip of wine. And I especially love the way you look first thing in the morning, when it's just us two, and I've been lucky enough to share a bed with you. You are radiant, and you are beautiful."

She moved closer to Maura, placing her hands firmly on her shoulders. She ran one palm over her chest and up her neck before resting on her cheek. Maura's eyes closed at the contact.

"I love you, Maura, so much. I didn't know it was possible to love another person as much as I love you."

And with that, she swooped down to capture Maura's lips in a fierce kiss, gently sliding her tongue inside Maura's mouth and relishing the sounds they made together. She ran her hands down Maura's back to rest on her hips and Maura, who had thankfully remained in heels despite the emergency situation, stretched even further to press her lips harder into Jane's.

They broke apart, gasping for air, and rested their foreheads together.

"What now?" Maura whispered, humour in her voice.

"I think you need to take care of me. I think we need to go back to your house, and you need to make me feel better." The huskiness in her voice sent shivers down Maura's spine, and she was only too happy to oblige.


End file.
